TALLAHASSEE, FL, Oct. 28, 2026 —
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Wednesday morning that his office is opening an investigation into what he called a Chinese Communist Party-controlled corporation operating in Florida.
"Our office is launching an investigation. Unacceptable to have a CCP-controlled corporation operating in Florida!" Uthmeier wrote in a post on his official X account at 10:35 a.m. Eastern time.
The attorney general's post doesn't name the company. It quotes a video post by commentator Eric Daugherty about the luxury yacht maker Ferretti Group and its U.S. arm, Ferretti Group of America, in Fort Lauderdale. As of 10:50 a.m. Eastern, the attorney general's office hadn't released a statement or press release with more details on the scope of the investigation, and Launchpad Digital hasn't independently confirmed which company or which property the office is looking at.
Who owns Ferretti, according to official filings
- Controlling shareholder. Italy's securities regulator, CONSOB, lists the Shandong provincial state-owned assets regulator in China (Shandong SASAC) as holding 37.54% of Ferretti S.p.A.'s shares and voting rights, indirectly through Ferretti International Holding S.p.A., based on filings processed as of Oct. 21, 2026 (CONSOB ownership record).
- Other large holders. The same record lists Valea Foundation, through Azúr AS, at 23.23% and Bader Nasser Al-Karafi at 5% (CONSOB).
- How it got there. Ferretti's own announcement says Shandong Heavy Industry Group–Weichai Group agreed in January 2012 to take a controlling interest in the company during its debt restructuring, and that Ferretti owned a shipyard in Miami at the time (Ferretti Group).
What Florida law says
Florida's 2023 law, section 692.204 of the Florida Statutes, bars certain people and entities tied to the People's Republic of China from owning or holding a controlling interest in real property in the state, including a corporation "organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in the People's Republic of China, or a subsidiary of such entity," and the Chinese government itself (Fla. Stat. 692.204).
Under the law:
- Covered owners who held Florida property before July 1, 2023, may keep it but can't acquire more, and they had to register it with the Florida Department of Commerce. Late registration carries a civil penalty of $1,000 a day.
- Property owned in violation of the law may be forfeited to the state through a civil action filed by the Department of Commerce.
- A violation is a third-degree felony.
The law also carves out a "de minimus indirect interest" for small stakes in publicly traded companies, generally under 5%. Whether the law applies to any particular company or property is something only investigators and, if it comes to that, a court can decide. No official source has said that Ferretti or any other company has broken the law.
What Floridians should know
Buyers of real property in Florida have to sign an affidavit at closing attesting they aren't a covered person or entity under the law (Fla. Stat. 692.204(6)).
Launchpad Digital has asked the Florida Attorney General's Office and Ferretti Group for comment and will update this story when they respond.
Those are the facts, directly from the source.
Sources: Attorney General James Uthmeier's official X account (Oct. 28, 2026); CONSOB, Italy's securities regulator; Ferretti Group; Florida Statutes section 692.204 (Online Sunshine).
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